Hudson River HealthCare to waive medical fees for farming community
Goshen Hudson River HealthCare will merge with The Alamo Farmworkers Community Center in Goshen, saving the vital community center just months before state funding is to dry up. Final approval for the merger is required from the state Attorney General’s office. HRHCare, a not-for-profit network of 16 primary care sites in the Hudson Valley. The group administers the medical and dental services based at The Alamo. The community center serves more than 2,000 people a year. Anne Kauffman Nolon, president and CEO of HRHCare, said that the organization’s board of directors, in voting to approve the consolidation, “saw that the community services they provide are part of a vision that is in common with ours.” State support for The Alamo had been so drastically cut that funding was due to run out in December. “Much of the credit must go to Kathy Brieger, our Chief Operating Officer, who brought this to fruition,” Nolon said. Hudson River HealthCare will waive the patient contribution for medical care for farmers and farm workers impacted by Hurricane Irene and the flooding in the region. “We see farmers and farm workers in Orange and Ulster counties experiencing extremely difficult times,” said Nolon. “We believe medical care should not be a privilege. Waiving the patient fee for medical services is our way of giving back to the farming community.” The program, which will run through Dec. 31, will apply at the HRHCare community health centers in Goshen at 888 Pulaski Highway (845-651-2298) and in New Paltz at 1 Paradise Lane (845-255-1760). Fund raiser Oct. 28 The Hudson River HealthCare Foundation will host a fund-raising dinner, “Cornucopia: A Celebration of Harvest and Health,” on Oct. 28 to help cover the cost of waiving the patient fees for the flood-affected farming community. For more information about this event, which is being held at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, call Dotty DeBiase at 914-734-8736 or e-mail her at ddebiase@hrhcare.org.